A conversion of two separate apartment units into two conjoined apartments. The space is designed to use and showcase a 90-plus chair collection that includes works by BBPR, Gerrit Rietveld, Piero Fornasetti, Gio Ponti, Ross Hansen, Alessandro Mendini, Wharton Esherick, Marcel Breuer, and Lina Bo Bardi, among others. Works from the collection inspire bespoke furniture designed by the architects, including a set of uniquely shaped kitchen barstools, a white oak platform bed in the primary bedroom, and a George Nelson inspired shower bench made entirely from ipe. Other two- and three-dimensional works by Nick Cave, Joe Goode, Donald Judd, Mitchell Squire, Vija Celmins, Ed Ruscha, Robert Ryman, and Agnes Martin are integrated into the design of the space. New furnishings from Molteni&C, Herman Miller, B&B Italia, Ingo Maurer, and Lapchi compliment the collected works.
In the main living room, a 20-foot-tall display wall features a variety of integrated steel display systems—pegs, shelves, and backlit niches—that highlight a range of collected works and books. Nearby, a new helical staircase connects the living room to a mezzanine office space. The staircase is supported by one steel stringer and features a gradient of fifteen uniquely stained wood treads to form a seamless connection between the ebonized red oak floor on the upper-level with a new natural white oak floor on the lower-level. The renovation extends to finishes, fixtures, and equipment that reconfigured the apartment’s kitchen, dining room, living room, exercise room, two full bathrooms, and two bedrooms.
Client
Private
Location
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Years
2021-2022
Area
2,300 ft² / 214 m²
Project Team
Thomas Kelley, Spencer McNeil, Carrie Norman, Andrew Hunt, William Stauffer
Consultant Team
Milk Metal Design (Metal Fabrication); Jason Lewis Furniture (Bespoke Furniture); Woodface (Millwork); Goodfriend Magruder (Structure); Quinn Murph/Pro (Lighting); It’s Oksana (Drapery)
Construction Team
General Contractor: Michael Walczak, Stratum Builders
Photography
Kendall McCaugherty Ristau (Hall+Merrick+McCaugherty), Sarah Crowley